Elevator



Oct. 8, 1946. J DUNLQP 2,408,760

7 I ELEVATOR 4 Filed Dec. 22, 1945 s Shets-Sheet 1 I INVENTOR WITNESSES: I

, James flan/0,0.

JZWWKW- rbm "7 I v r I Q Oct. 8, 1946. J. D'UNLOP v 2,408,760

' ELEVATOR Filed Dec. 22, 194s 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Jazz/as film/0,0.

WITNESSES: I

J. DUNLOP Oct. 8, 1946.

ELEVATOR Filed Dec. 22, 19,45

3 Sheefs-Sheet 3 INVENTOR James flan/0p.

N \n H ORNEY shoes, and

Patented Oct. 8, 1946 ELEVATOR James Dunlop, Ridgewood, N. J., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, 2a., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application DecemberZZ, 1943, Serial No. 515,257; 9 Claims. (01. 1s7 95) My invention relates to elevators and, more particularly, to means for leveling theplatforms of deck-edge elevators on airplane-carrier ships with the flight decks thereon.

In a typical ship of this character, the flight deck overhangs the edge of the ship about 16', and out of this overhanging part of the deck is notched a space for an elevator platform which is about 60' long and 34 wide and which weighs approximately 60 tons. The platform extends approximately 18' beyond the overhanging edge of, the flight deck, and the whole platform structure is suspended by a plurality of hoisting cables between a pair ofguide rails mounted on the outside of the ship hull. A plurality of guide shoes.

over the platform and the adjacent edges of the I flight deck without being caught. Therefore, one object of my invention is to provide for leveling an elevator platform with it landing and maintaining it in level condition therewith regardless of the position of any load on the platform.

Another object is to provide a leveling means for a ship elevator platform having a two point lift which will cause it to stay level with the upper deck of the ship regardless of any conditionsto which it may be subjected.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which, I

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a deck edge elevator looking outboard from the inside of the ship with the guide rails in cross section,

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the elevator platform illustrated in Fig. 1, with parts of the flight deck and the elevator platform broken away to reduce the size of the drawing,

Fig. 3 is a view taken on the line IIIIII of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a view taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged top-plan view of one of the guide shoes in its guide rail,

Fig. 6 is a view taken on the line VI-VI of 1, illustrating the end roller in one of the guide Fig. 7 is a view taken on the lines VII-v11 of Fig. 6.

I flight deck. I5 by a plurality of hoisting cables Itv Although the invention is illustrated and de-' scribed in connection with a deck edge elevator and the main measurements of such an elevator now in use are. many, it may be used with different sizes of platforms and with platforms of other types of elevators. 1

Referring more specifically to the drawings, I have illustrated a deck edge elevator having a platform I0 disposed between a pair of guide rails I] and I2 mounted on the outside of a ship hulll3 (only a small portion of which is shown) in position to be supported by and to be raised and lowered between a main deck (not shown) and a and I! attached to its fore and aft ends by hitches I8 and IS. The hoisting cables may be operated by any suitable means, such as a hydraulic engine likethat illustrated and described in my co-pending application Serial No. 515,992, filed December 28, 1943, and assigned to the Westinghouse Electric Elevator Company.

The platform [0 may be constructed of seamless steel tubing, structural steel sections and steel plate welded together in bridge-like form to form a relatively light but strong structure 20.

The guide rails II and [2 are provided with channeled faces 2! and 22 facing each other and are mounted on backing plates 23 and 24. The backing plates are secured to the ship hull by a plurality. of horizontal brackets 25 which are welded thereto to provide a strong support for the guide rails. 1

The platform is guided in the guide rails by four roller-type guide shoes 21, 28, 29 and 30. The guide shoes 21 and 29 are mounted one above the other on the aft end of the platform for engaging the channel 21 in the guide rail II. The guide shoes 28 and 30 are mounted one above the other on the fore end of the platform in position to engage the channel 22 in the guide rail l2.

Referring to Figs. 5 and 6, the guide shoe 2! comprises a cast metal body 32 anda side roller 33 and an end roller 34 mounted therein. The guide shoe body 32 is securely fastened to the platform framework 20 by a plurality of bolts 35. The side roller 33 is mounted on a shaft 36 which is rotatably mounted in the upper cylindrical portion 31 of the body 32, so that it will bear against either a renewable steel strip 38 or a renewable steel strip 39 mounted on the side-walls of the channel in the guide rail II to prevent lateral movement of the platform. I

The guide roller 34 is disposed to engage the inner face of the channel 2| to prevent end movement of the platform and is rotatably mounted 3 on a pin 4! disposed in the forked end of a round shaft 42, slidably disposed in the lower cylindrical portion d3 of the body 32. The end roller 34 is biased into engagement with the inner face of the channel 2| by a coiled compression spring 45 disposed between the central face of a cavity 55 in the rear-end of the roller shaft and the inner face of a cap 45, which is mounted on the cylinder 43 by a plurality of bolts 4?. The spring is selected with a steep characteristic to balance the weight of the platform. The shaft 42 is prevented from rotating in the body 32 by a pair of fins 49 on the inner side of the cap 45 which extend into slots 48 in the rear end of the shaft, so that the end roller 34 will always track in a vertical direction in the channel 2!. The holes in the cap 45 for the bolts 41 are made loose so that the cap may be rotated slightlyto aline the roller with its guide rail before the bolts are tightened.

A pair of bolts 51 and 52 pass loosely through the cap 46 and screw into the rear-end of the shaft 42. These bolts are used only during assembly to hold the spring compressed until the platform is properly alined in the guide rails. After the platform is correctly positioned the bolts and 52 are removed and watertight plugs are inserted in the holes. Thus the spring is free to bias the roller against the guide rail at all times. A rearwardly extending central projection 54 is disposed on the rear-end of the shaft 42 to provide a means for limiting the rearward movement of the shaft when the spring 45 is compressed by movement of the platform toward the guide rail.

A hardened steel striking bar 58 is mounted on the rear-end of the projection 54 by a press fit and a pin 55 in position for engaging a stop or bending bar 58. The stop bar is dispOsed across a pair of shoulders 59 at the ends of a rectangular depression 50 in the inner side of the cap 45 and is held in position by brass screws 5811 which pass through its ends into the cap 45. The end of the striking bar is rectangular in shape facing the central portion of this bending bar. When the force exerted by the platform on the guide shoe exceeds a predetermined amount, the striking bar will engage the bending bar and bend it into the space 55, thus relieving the strain on the end roller when it exceeds the normal. amount for which it is designed. The platform guide rails and guide shoes are usually so designed that, under normal conditions, a space 6! measuring one-eighth inch exists between the striking bar 56 and the bending bar 58 topermit that much spring biased play of the roller 34 during normal operation. The bending bar 58 is so selected as to size and strength that it will bend and permit the end roller 34 to compress the spring 45 more than one-eighth inch only when a predetermined dangerous pressure tends to move the platform endways. The end of the striking bar 56 is rectangular in shape and fits loosely-into a rectangular depression in the cap 45. A slipper block 51 (Fig. 5) is mounted on each end of the platform in position to engage the backing plate 24 and prevent further endwise movement 7 of the platform in case it forces the bending bar to its bending limit. The end of the striking bar 56 is rectangular in shape and fits loosely into a rectangular depression in cap 46. The bending bar and the slipper block construction are illustrated, described and claimed in the copending application Serial No. 516,046, filed December 29, 1943, and assigned to the Westinghouse Electric Elevator Company.

The guide shoes 28, 29 and 3B and the slipper blocks associated therewith are constructed in the same manner and are mounted on the elevator platform in the same manner as the guide shoe 21 and the slipper block 51 except that the guide shoes 29 and 3!! are mounted in what may be'called'an upside down "relation to the guide shoes 21 and 28. i

A plurality of locks 65, 55, 5'l and 68 (Figs. 2, 3 and 4) are provided for locking the platform 1 against the flight deck when it is to remain out of normal operation for any length of time. The lock 65 comprises a cast body ill which is securely fastened to the underside of the flight deck l5, a lock bolt H slidably disposed in the casting and a stop member 12 mounted on the adjacent end of the platform. The side of the casting '55 adjacent the platform has a downwardly and inwardly sloping face or beveled surface 13 disposed to be engaged by an outwardly and downwardly sloping or beveled face 14 on the stop member '12 when the platform is raised to the flight deck. The beveled faces 13 and i4 cooperate to stop and center the platform at the flight deck.

The lock bolt H is provided'withan outwardly and downwardly sloping or beveled face '15 for engaging an upwardly and outwardly sloping face '56 on the angular stop member 72 when in looking position. The rear-end of the lock bolt is connected to an operating rod 78 by a link '19 and a lever arm 80', so that rotative movement of the rod 18 will move the lock bolt into orout of its locking position. The lock 66 is constructed in the same manner as the lock 65.

The lock 67 comprises a casting 82 fastened to the underside of the flight deck, a lock bolt t5 slidably disposed in the casting 82 and a stop member 84 mounted on the adjacent end of the platform. The rear-end of the lock bolt 83 is connected by a link 85 and a lever arm 86 to the locking rod 18, so that it will be moved into and out of locking position with the lock bolt H. The engaging surfaces of the bolt 83, the stop 84 and the casting 82 are horizontally disposed so that they will prevent vertical movement of the platform when the lock bolt is in locking position but may permit a limited horizontal movement of the platform. The lock 68 is constructed in the same manner as the lock 61.

The locks are described and claimed in the copending application Serial No. 514,520, filed December 16, 1943.

It is important that the platform shall lie level with the flight deck when it is moved thereto end of the elevator as the platform rides up'to its position level to the flight deck. The cam I00 is removably mounted on the inner face of the channel 2| at a point where its upper thickest portion will be engaged'by the end wheel Hand the cam i0! is mounted on the interface of the channels may be adjusted by the use of suitable channel 22 where its upperthickest end will be engaged by the end wheel 34a when the platform is flush with the flight deck. The distance the cams extend outwardly from-the inner'face of the shims between the cams and the channels.

The cams cooperate with the guide shoe rollers 34 and 34a, the beveled faces 13 and M at the aft end-of the platform, the beveled faces 13a and 14a on the lock as at the fore end of the platform.

' form, the platform may be aoavco and 'with thehoisting .cables'to levelthe platform:

flush with the flight deck. The hoisting cables are setito'have a'stretch in them equal 'to' the weight of the platform, plus the total live-load at both ends of the platform, is stopped at the flight deck. v I

The stretch is'obtained by placing stops on the flight deckto stop the platform and by placing stops on the hoisting engine plunger at such po:-' sition that the engine will continue the hoisting pull on the cables after the platform isstopped at the stretch in the.

end wheels'34 and 34a roll upon the cams and are moved inwardly to take up their one-eighth inch clearance and in this position they center the platform firmly between the beveled edges 13 and 13a on the flight deck.

rln assumed operation of the elevator It will be assumed that the platform has been lowered below the flight deck and is now being returned to the flight deck by the hoisting cables l6 and I1. As the platform moves upwardly from its lower position and nears its flight deck position, the end rollers 34 and 34a roll upon the lower ends of the cams I and I'll and are thereby moved inwardly against th biasing effect of their compression springs. As the platform continues its upward movement, the'increasing thickness of the cams continues forcing the end rollers inwardly. The compression of the springs forces the platform into its central position with reference to thebeveled faces on the locks 65 and 66 and, as the platform reaches its final position, the cams force the rollers 34 and 34a inwardly until the clearance back of them is completely taken up and the platform is then when the platform spend in a true central position with reference to the beveled faces on thelocks 65 and 66.

If the load on the platform is unevenly balanced by being placed at the fore end of the platthan it is at its aft end. In such a case, the platform will pivot on its end roller 34 as the beveled face 14 engages thebeveled face 13 and the fore end of the platform will swing upwardly into place under the pressure of the cables, until the beveled faces 13a and 14a at the fore end of the platform, so that the platform will now lie flush with the flight deck and. will remain in that position, because the hoisting cables are at the limit of the stretch for which they are designed, the platform is in true center position between the cams and the beveled faces on the platform are in contact with the beveled faces on the flight deck.

By the foregoing description it will be seen that I have provided a means for leveling along elevator platform at a flight deck which will bring it flush with the flight deck under all conditions of loading, and which maintain it flush with that deck under any condition of load.

Although I have illustrated and described only one specific embodiment of my invention, many changes therein and modifications thereof may be lower at its fore end andipulling it up against the floor to a 1. In an elevatorfor serving an upper floor;.a,

pair of guide rails, a platform disposedfbetween the guide rails, a stop device on the floor for each end of the platform, each stop device having a downwardly and inwardly sloping face, astopdevicemounted on each end of the platform, each of, said stop devices having an outwardly and downwardly slopingface. for engaging the correstop device on the floor, a cable'at each end of the platform for point where the sloping faced stop devices on the platform engage the sloping faced stop devices on the floor, and means disposed on the guide :rails for centering the platform with the stop devices at .the floor as the platform arrives thereat.

'2. In an elevator for serving an upper-floor,

a pair of guide rails, a platform disposed between the'guide rails, a cable at guide rail, means for-limiting the rearward movement of each guide roller to a predetermined distance, a stop device mounted on the parking floor for each end ofthe platform, each of said stop devices having an inwardly and downwardly sloping face, a stop device mounted on each end of the platform, each of said stop devices having an outwardly and downwardly sloping face disposed to engage the sloping faces on the stop devices mounted on the floor when th platform arrives at the floor, and a cam disposed in each guiderail for engaging the guide roller associated therewith as the platform arrives at the parking floor to force the guide rollers .to their rearward limit and thereby center the'platform with its stop devices between the sloping faces of the stop devices on the floor.

3. In an elevatorfor serving an upper floor, a pair of guide rails, a platform disposed between the guide rails, a cable at each end of the platform for operating th platform, an upper guide roller and a lower guide roller movably mounted on each end of the platform in position to engage the'guide rail thereat for guiding the platform between the guide rails, means for bias- 7 ing each guide roller toward its associated guide rail, means for limiting the rearward movement of each guide roller to a predetermined distance, a stop device mounted on the parking floor for each end of the platform, each of said stop devices having an inwardly and downwardly sloping face, a stop device mounted on each end of the platform, each of said stop devices having an outwardly and downwardly sloping face disposed to engage the sloping faces on the stop devices mounted on the floor when the platform arrives at the floor, and a cam disposed in each guide rail for engaging the upper guide roller associated therewith as the platform arrives at the parking floor to force the guide rollers to their rearward limit and thereby center the platoperating the platform each end of the plat-V form for operating, the platform, a guide roller 7 form for supporting, raising and lowering the platform, an upper and a lowerguide roller movably mounted on each end of the platform in position to engage the guide rail thereat for guiding the platform between the guide rails, means for biasing each guide roller toward its guide rail, means for limiting the rearward movement of each guide roller to a predetermined distance, a beveled stop device mounted on the parking floor for each end of the platform for stopping it at the parking floor, and a cam disposed in each guide rail for engaging the upper guide roller associated therewith as the platform arrives at the parking floor to force said upper guide rollers to their rearward limit and thereby center the platform with the beveled stops.

5. In an elevator for serving a parking floor, a pair of guide rails, a platform disposed between the guide rails, a cable at each end of the platform for supporting, raising and lowering the platform, a guide movably mounted on each end of the platform in position to engage the guide rail thereat for guiding the platform between the guide rails, means for biasing each guide toward its guide rail, means for limiting the rearward movement of each guide to a predetermined distance, a beveled stop device mounted on the parking floor for each end of the platform for stopping it at the parking floor, and a cam disposed in each guide rail for engaging the guides as the platform arrives at the parking floor to force said guides to their rearward limit and thereby center the platform with the beveled stops.

6. In an elevator for serving a parking floor, a pair of guide rails, a platform disposed between the guide rails, a cable at each end of the platform for supporting, raising and lowering the platform, said cables having a stretch in them equal to the weight of the platform plus the total live load at both ends of the platform, an upper and a lower guide movably mounted on each end of the platform in position to engage the guide rail thereat for guiding the platform between the guide rails, means for biasin each guide toward its guide rail, means for limiting the rearward movement of each guide to a predetermined distance, a beveled stop device mounted on the parking floor for each end of the platform for stopping it at the parking floor, and a cam disposed in each guid rail for engaging the upper guides as the platform arrives at the parking floor to force said upper guides to their rearward limit and thereby center the platform with the beveled stops.

7. In a deck edge elevator for serving a deck on a ship, a pair of guide rails, a platform disposed between the guide rails, a pair of cables for operating the platform, an upper and a lower guid shoe mounted on each end of the platform, a roller mounted in ,each guide shoe to engage the associated guide rail forguiding the platform along it, means for biasing each roller toward its guide rail, a block mounted ineach guide shoe for limiting the rearward movement of its roller to a predetermined distance, a beveled stop device at each end of the platform for stopping it at the deck, and a cam disposed on each guide rail, each of said cams having its thin end disposed downwardly along its guide rail and its, thick end disposed at the point where the roller on the upper guide shoe roller rests when the'platform is at the deck, said thick end of each cam being approximately equal in thickness with the predetermined limited rearward movement of the rollers.

8. In a deck edge elevator for serving a flight deck on. a ship, a pair of guide rails, a platform disposed between the guide rails, a cable at each end of the platform for supporting, raising and lowering the platform, said cables having a stretch in them equal to the weight of the platform plus the total live load at both ends of the platform, an upper and a lower guide shoe mounted on each end of the platform in position to engage the guide rail thereat for guiding the platform between the guide rails, each guide shoe having a roller mounted on the outer end of a shaft slidably disposed in the guide shoe, a spring disposed in each guide shoe for biasing its roller toward the guide rail adjacent thereto, a block mounted in each guide shoe for limiting rearward movement of the roller and its shaft to a predetermined distance, a beveled stop device at each end of the platform for stopping it at the flight deck, and a cam disposed in each guide rail, each of said cams having its thin end disposed downwardly along its guide rail and its thick end disposed at the point where the roller on the upper guide shoe rests when the platform is at the flight deck, said thick end of each cam being approximately equal in thickness with the predetermined limited rearward movement of the rollers.

9. In an elevator for serving a plurality of floors, a pair of guide rails, a platform disposed between the guide rails, a plurality of cables for operating the platform, a guide movably mounted on each end of the platform in position to engage the guide rail thereat for guiding the platform between the guide rails, springs disposed between the guides and the platform for centralizing the platform between the guide rails, means for limiting the rearward movement of each guide to a predetermined distance, and cams disposed on the guide rails for engaging the guides and forcing them to their rearward limit as the platform arrives at a selected floor to positively centralize the platform at that floor.

JAMES DUNLOP. 

